


Hold Onto Me

by killashilla



Series: Hold Onto Me [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Allura and Lance are Cousins, Allura and Lance are Exchange Students, Altean Lance (Voltron), Alternate Universe - High School, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Smut, F/M, Galra Keith (Voltron), High school relationships, Major Character Injury, Minor Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-30
Updated: 2017-07-30
Packaged: 2018-12-09 01:22:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11658675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/killashilla/pseuds/killashilla
Summary: The prestigious Garrison Academy welcomes two royal exchange students from Altea. Whirlwind romances and harsh realities unfold as Allura, Lance, Shiro, Keith, Hunk, and Pidge navigate love, life, and high school.





	Hold Onto Me

**Author's Note:**

> The first day that Princess Allura and her cousin Lance arrive in a different galaxy, thousands of light years from Altea. They'll have to finish their educations here, on an unfamiliar planet with unfamiliar people. Luckily, these royals are quick to find allies...very close, very dreamy allies. 
> 
> This is the moment the Princess meets the Golden Boy.
> 
> (note: Shiro still has both his arms and a full head of black hair)

Allura looked up at the dashing young man as he spoke, barely processing a word he was saying. 

Everything had happened so quickly—she remembered clambering out of the royal airship with her cousin Lance onto the Garrison grounds before being ushered into the school and immediately bombarded by dozens of clamoring students.

Allura barely had time to take in the rusty red sands of the Arizona desert, or the prestigious, bright gleam of the Academy’s great foyer before being thrown into a blur of introductions, unfamiliar names, handshakes, and ecstatic young girls marveling over her hair.

Then, just as swiftly as they had been herded in, she had been separated from Lance and sent off for a tour, each with their own student ambassador.

And now she was here, in a long and empty corridor, arm-in-arm with this particularly tall, handsome stranger. He had approached her with eyes that searched hers in earnest and a warm smile that made her weak in the knees.

“You must be Princess Allura,” He had said, offering her his elbow, “Call me Shiro.”

_ Shiro. _

 

She was trying to concentrate but her thoughts kept floating back to his muscled arm under her hand and the shapes his lips formed as he spoke.

“Princess? Is everything okay?” Shiro stepped out of her reach to look her in the eye.

“Oh, stars, I’m so sorry,” Allura paled, “I got… distracted, what were you saying?”

He laughed ( _ great _ ,  _ even his laugh is adorable) _ , “Nothing interesting, apparently. Don’t apologize, I’m not exactly thrilled by the scheduling system, either.” Suddenly, Shiro leaned down to whisper in her ear conspiratorially, “You know what, let me show you something else. Schedules can wait.”

He grabbed her hand and they were off, Allura’s mind still reeling from his voice low in her ear, his breath tickling her hair, his lips mere inches from her skin…

_ Get ahold of yourself! _

“They gave me your file. You’re into astronomy, right?” He asked as they rounded a corner.

“Yes, I love learning about the stars.”  _ That’s it, short answers. Be professional. _ But she could feel him waiting for more, expectant and open and kind. To hell with professionalism. “It helps me feel at home in the universe, knowing the names and stories of the constellations. I suppose if I’m going to be an interstellar diplomat one day, I’d want to feel at home no matter how far I go.”

Shiro stopped short at this, and his thumb brushed lightly against the back of her hand, “I know exactly how you feel.”

_ Quiznak, this boy will be the death of me. _

Allura had read his file, too. An aspiring deep space pilot with the brains and the talent to make it big, Takashi Shirogane was the golden boy of the Garrison: top of his class, captain of the varsity football team, and already a faculty favorite for admission to the illustrious Voltron University. She had been fully prepared to meet a cocky, brown-nosing jock but this “Shiro” was one pleasant surprise after another.

They continued down one last corridor until they reached a pair of old, rusted double-doors. Shiro glanced around to check that the coast was clear, then rammed the doors with a powerful shoulder so that they wedged open with a metallic screech. 

“Fuck.” He hissed, “Let’s hope nobody heard that. We’re not supposed to be here without an instructor,” 

_ Looks like Golden Boy has a rebellious streak. _

Shiro took her by the hand again and led her through the entrance as he flicked a switch on the side panel. The room, which had at first looked to be a dark and cluttered auditorium, suddenly became illuminated by a hologram of stars shining from the massive glass-domed ceiling. A lush indoor garden surrounded them, and Allura stared in awe at the constellations hovering above her and the way their reflections danced on the leaves.

“This is the old observatory. We built a new one in the simulation wing a few years back, so this place was repurposed as the botany lab. Cooler than schedules, huh?” Shiro grinned.

“It’s…absolutely incredible…” She breathed.

Shiro laid down to get a full view of the hologram and motioned for her to join him on the floor.

_ This is way, way better than schedules… _

 

\- - - 

 

Shiro had been hesitant at first about this so-called “Crown Princess Allura”. Princesses were haughty, stuck-up, privileged beyond normalcy. He had braced himself for a royal brat. Still, he had held out hope for the girl from the student files—the Altean King Alfor was known for his benevolence and fortitude, surely his daughter couldn’t be all bad. And she loves astronomy—which could signify anything from intellect to literal airheadedness— but Shiro clung to that speck of common interest.  _ Hope for the best, prepare for the worst, right? _

 

But then, all of his doubts fell away the moment he laid eyes on her. Of course she was a princess, it was the only title that did her justice. Everything around her seemed to glow, from her hair, to the crescents on her cheekbones, to her piercing blue eyes—even her laugh made the room seem brighter. He froze in the middle of the packed Garrison foyer and watched as she greeted the students crowding around her. 

A tall, lanky boy—her cousin Lance, he realized—stood at her side and teased her every so often, posing for selfies with Allura and the younger girls, pinching her cheek or bumping her hip whenever someone paid her a lavish compliment. 

Shiro came to his senses when Keith shoved at his unmoving form ( _ “Get a move on, Shiro, what are you doing?”) _ . He was fine, nothing out of the ordinary, he was just about to meet the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen. And of course he was dressed like an idiot, in his formal Academy uniform with the stupid goddamn tie and the stupid goddamn jacket from freshman year that definitely didn’t fit him anymore. Keith was practically propelling him forward now, grumbling and muttering his last protests against the tour they had to give to the exchange kids. 

And then her eyes met his and he couldn’t help but break out into the biggest, dumbest smile.  _ Damn. I’m a goner. _

 

He still felt that glow, deep in his chest as she laid beside him on the floor of the observatory some hours later. The goddamn too-tight jacket was serving as a makeshift pillow and the stars of Ursa Major and Minor twinkled above them ( _ Mother Klanmüirl and Cub _ , Allura had called them) and sometime during their stargazing she had shifted so that her head now rested on his outstretched arm. 

Conversation with her was so easy, so natural. She was quick to interject with a witty comment and teased him at every opportunity, and soon they were laughing with the genuine warmth of old friends. When the topic veered into more personal territory, he listened with rapt attention to her stories of Altea: its culture, its peoples, and of the responsibilities that weighed heavily on her heart.

“I’ve been training for years as a galactic diplomat—a real explorer—but one day I’ll have to forget that dream and devote my life to governing my people. I’m so scared that I won’t be able to do it, that I won’t be good enough.” 

Her words hung heavily in the air. Shiro didn’t have the courage to tell her:  _ No, you’re perfect. You’re beautiful and intelligent and strong and anyone would be lucky to call you their Queen.  _

Instead, he offered some stories of his own—stories he had never told of the family he had left behind in Tokyo, of his twin brother and the garden out back where they had first stargazed as children. 

“Just like this?” Allura gestured to the greenery around them and the stars above.

Shiro nodded, “Just like this.” Even though Ryou was the farthest possible thing from a gorgeous alien princess. 

After a comfortable silence, Allura poked him in the chest, “So. Why is the Garrison’s future valedictorian breaking into abandoned lab rooms? Is this a regular occurrence for you?”

He laughed sheepishly, “Yeah, sort of. Out there, they expect me to have all of the answers; I’m supposed to be the best in my classes, and lead my teammates, and help the younger pilots train. Not that I don’t love it, but—”

“I understand. You need to get away from it all sometimes.” She felt him nod. “I’m grateful that you’re letting me in on your secret hideout.”

“Of course, Princess. What kind of tour would this be if I didn’t show you the best parts of the Academy?”

“Please, Shiro, you can just call me Allura.”  _ Am I being too forward?  _ Something like this was unprecedented. Even Lance had to refer to her as “the Princess” at their old school. But this was Arizona, where there was no monarchy or planetary rivalries or—

“Okay. Allura.”  _ Well. That was simple.  _

“Any fears?” She asked quickly, the sound of her name in his voice still echoing like ripples on still water.  

“Oh, plenty,” Shiro chuckled, “Dying young, dying alone, dying without having done anything with my life—“

“That’s a lot of dying.”

“You didn’t let me tell you my worst fear: I’m deathly afraid of princesses.”

She scoffed and he had to bite his cheek to contain his grin. 

“Yep, Altean ones in particular.” Shiro continued. “They’re the absolute worst. So scary. Especially when they’ve got you pinned to the ground in a dark room.” He was laughing now at her faux-pouting expression. 

“You’re right, Shiro,” Her voice held a new note of mischief. He felt her hand slide across his torso and he froze, heart threatening to pound out of his chest. “You never know when a princess might…strike!” 

And then Allura grabbed ahold of his tie, that stupid goddamn tie, jerking him onto his side, and her face was suddenly very,  _ very _ close to his. 

He could tell she hadn’t thought this through, her crystal blue eyes were wide with surprise at her own boldness and her breath hitched between them.

Neither of them were really thinking anymore. 

Almost by instinct, the arm that had been resting behind her shoulders dropped down to snake around her waist and he was pressing his lips to hers.

It was a stolen kiss. A stupid, reckless, hormonal, teenaged impulse. Shiro half expected her to pull away and slap him for being so presumptuous but instead, she pressed closer to him and deepened the kiss as her eyes slid shut. 

It was rushed, feverish, almost desperate, but it felt  _ so goddamn right. _ Her teeth scraped against his and her fingertips ran blazing trails up Shiro’s shoulders, his neck, through his hair. Their tongues rolled together in a heady, panting mess. The warm glow in his chest pulsed and grew until he was ablaze in light. He was so utterly consumed by the taste of her that he almost missed the sound of steel-toed boots coming down the hall. 

 


End file.
